


falling in love in the cruelest way

by EternallyEC



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: F/F, Heavy Angst, One Shot, Tissue Warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23775364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternallyEC/pseuds/EternallyEC
Summary: After their date at Nozu's, things have changed between Tori and Jade. But will either of them have a chance to do anything about it?
Relationships: Tori Vega & Jade West, Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 1
Kudos: 66





	falling in love in the cruelest way

**Author's Note:**

> I... I don't know what to say, guys. Honestly, I've been in a mood the last couple of days from this quarantine and other life stuff and, since I can't afford therapy, I tend to deal with said moods by tormenting fictional characters. Perks of being a writer. 
> 
> Props to the Jori Discord for the wheel of angst spin I got this idea from!

Jade was almost sorry when she noticed the signs of Nozu getting ready to close down and checked her watch, surprised to find that it was fifteen minutes after midnight. 

Disguising her surprise, she shot Tori a smirk. “Time to go.” Standing up, her eyebrow arched when Tori made no move to follow, staring glumly down at her phone. “Vega, you coming or what?” 

Tori sighed, still avoiding her gaze. “Trina isn’t answering my texts. She was _supposed_ to be my ride home,” she told her, her fingers tapping out another text. 

Before Jade could think about what she was doing, she put her hand over Tori’s and wrapped her fingers around the phone. “Just come on already,” she grumbled, using the grip to tug Tori out of her seat. 

Tori blinked, finally looking up at her and Jade found herself disappointed with the surprise she found there. “Jade? What are you doing?” 

“Giving you a ride home, what do you think I’m doing?” she rolled her eyes, holding a hand up when she went to speak again and dropping Tori’s hand. “Don’t answer that, just come on.”

She tried to pretend like she didn’t notice the way a wide, bright smile spread across Tori’s face as she followed her out. 

Opening the car door for her, Jade smirked at the surprise on her face. “Your face will freeze like that, you know,” she chuckled. “Calm down and get in the car, Vega,” she teased, surprising even herself with her lighthearted tone. 

Although it was too dark to tell, Jade would have bet money that Tori was blushing as she hurried to climb into the car. She smirked at the thought, waiting for Tori to get settled before she closed the door and walked around to the other side. 

The ride was silent for a few minutes, Tori staring out of her window and Jade focusing on the road. Still, she couldn’t help but notice that something had shifted between them, the normally uncomfortable silence seeming more forgiving and peaceful than it had ever been before. 

“Jade?” Tori queried, her voice sounding hesitant.

“Yeah, Vega?” she replied, shaking herself from her thoughts at the sound of her passenger’s voice. 

“I had a good time tonight,” she said softly, making Jade turn to catch a glimpse of her. 

Through the illumination of the highway lights, she could see the smile on her face and as their eyes met, Jade couldn’t help but to return it. Somehow, Tori’s smile grew even brighter and although she rolled her eyes, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “It was okay,” she told her, raising a pierced eyebrow when Tori positively beamed back at her, wondering when the other girl had gotten so good at reading her. 

Hitting a red light at the intersection just after getting off the highway, Jade snuck another look at Tori, her stomach twisting when Tori caught her… because Tori was staring right back at her. 

She couldn’t deny that the night had changed things for her, she knew that. Sikowitz was damn near insane at times, but he knew what he was doing when it came to acting and teaching them how to connect, maybe a little too well. 

Spending time with Tori… She’d pretended to hate the idea to save face and continue trying to push Tori away the way she had been since the day they’d met. Jade wasn’t used to people openly defying her and she’d told herself that’s all it was, but it hadn’t taken long at all to realize there was something more to it. 

She’d fought the realization that she was not only bisexual but attracted to Tori Vega every step of the way. Terrified and frustrated by the feelings the other girl brought out in her, she’d gone out of her way to torment her, hoping to convince her to leave her alone even though that thought scared the shit out of her too. 

But somehow, Tori had never gone and tonight, Jade thought, they’d had a breakthrough. From talking to banding together against the creeps and singing together, the hours had flown by in her company and Jade suddenly couldn’t remember what the hell she’d been so scared of to begin with. 

And, more importantly, she couldn’t help but wonder why she’d wasted so much time being afraid when Tori had proven that she wasn’t going to give up on her that easily. 

Stopping at another traffic light just before Tori’s street, Jade knew that her time was almost up. Taking a deep breath, she reached out for Tori’s hand. “Tori…” 

Suddenly, a bright light filled her eyes through the window behind Tori and everything seemed to slow down. Without a second thought, she jumped over the middle console to shield Tori with her body, suddenly grateful for the fact that she’d forgotten to put on her seatbelt. It was a strange thought, but she never had time to register it as such as her world went black, her body pressed against Tori’s and her hands shielding her head. 

~ ~ ~ 

Tori slowly rose back to consciousness, wincing as the cacophony of beeps and whirs of machinery combined with hushed voices and footsteps to make her aching head hurt even worse. 

Opening her eyes, she winced and quickly squeezed them shut again at the bright lights, trying again inch by inch until her eyes had adjusted enough to open fully. 

The first thing she saw was her mom sleeping beside the bed, followed by Trina scrolling through her phone. “Trina?” she said, her voice raspy and her throat aching at the use. 

“Oh my god, Tori!” Trina squealed, waking Holly. “I’ll go get the doctor,” she grinned, running out of the room so quickly that Tori just knew the doctor had to be cute. 

“Mom?” 

Holly smiled, her lip trembling as she approached and gently kissed Tori’s forehead. “Hey baby.” 

“What happened?” she questioned, brow furrowing for only a second before she gasped in pain and stopped. 

“Honey, try not to move,” Holly sighed, her hand hovering nervously over her shoulder, torn between wanting to offer comfort and knowing that her touch would hurt. “What’s the last thing you remember?” 

“I… I was leaving Nozu’s. Jade was giving me a ride home because Trina wouldn’t answer my texts.” Her eyes widened and she didn’t even care about the pain as a new kind of agony ripped through her chest. “Where’s Jade? Is she okay?” she asked urgently. 

“Honey…” 

“What is it, Mom? She’s okay, isn’t she? She has to be okay,” she pleaded, tears filling her eyes at Holly’s expression that told her everything she didn’t want to know. 

“Jade didn’t make it, honey,” Holly whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as Tori sobbed, uncaring about how badly it hurt. “She… She saved your life, baby. The truck hit your side of the car but she threw herself over you and took most of it,” she swallowed, running her hand over Tori’s hair comfortingly. “They said that she didn’t suffer,” she said softly, her heart aching at the pain she couldn’t take from her daughter. 

Tori didn’t respond, hardly able to even _register_ the words as a tidal wave of regret and grief washed over her, taking everything she had. 

She’d thought that they had more time. They were teenagers, still in high school, she’d thought. They had time to figure things out and for Tori to tell her how she really felt about her, the real reason that she kept fighting for her no matter what Jade threw her way.

But now, all that she can see is the wasted time, all of the moments that she’d thrown away out of fear and cowardice and it’s ripping her apart. 

She’d never had the chance to tell Jade that she was desperately, hopelessly, _recklessly_ in love with her and now, she never will. She’ll never get to know if Jade could have possibly felt the same way, although she knows that it is-- _was_ , she corrects herself with another shudder, just a pipe dream. 

Jade may not have hated her anymore, but she still barely tolerated her. There’s no way that she could have felt the same way for Tori as Tori felt for her, but maybe someday… Maybe someday she could have. 

And the worst part of it all is that now, she’ll have to live with the maybes and all of the unknowns for the rest of her life, knowing that Jade was probably pissed as hell in the afterlife that she’d died to save Tori Vega. 

She welcomed the unconsciousness when the doctor (who was cute just as she'd suspected) was forced to sedate her, her mind going blissfully blank as her body numbed, and Jade was the last thought on her mind as she slipped into a thankfully dreamless sleep.


End file.
